Trolley wire support



Jan. 16, 1940. A, H, GENTER 1 2,187,311

TROLLEY WIRE SUPPORT Filed- Nov. 22, 1938 H 6, INVENTOR. BY

' ATTORNEY.

85 1 frog casting m'adeup of the ceiling plate Ill with Patented Jan. 16.1940 1 County, Pa; assignor to Duquesne Mi'neSupply Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., :a corporation "of Pennsylvania 1 Application November 22,1938,1S erial No. 241,796

4 Claims. (01. 191-38) This .inventionrelates generally to trolley .wire equipment .and .more particularly to .wire supports forconnectingaadjacentends f trolley 1 wires and for supporting .trolley wiresat :intersections, 1

The principal object of1this;.invention 1 11s the Uprovision of a smooth .continuous :surface Jaetween a trolley :wireand its support. 1

Another object is the provision of .a trolley wire frog having -a smooth1 and. uninterrupted contacting .surface between ithef wire and the frog. 1

Another object .is the provision of improved clamping means for attaching a trolley wire frog 11 to the adjacent ends of :trolley wires. 1

Another (object is the provision of a wedge clamping action fora trolley wire. support.

1 ,Otherobjects and advantages. .appear in the following; description .and claims; 1 1 1 1 In the accompanying drawing a practical cmbodirrient illustrating the principlesof this inengaging surface of ventionisshown whereinz 1 Fig. 1 is -a vertical section taken through a trolley :frog comprising this =invention. 1

Fig.2 is a plan view oi the under orcontact the trolley :frog .shown :in

Fig. 3 is 1 a vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig.2. 1 1 t 1 Fig. 4 is an enlargedsideelevation illustrating one section of a trolleywire splicing clampcom;

1 1 the frog casting forsupporting or properly alignprisingthis'inventi'on. 11 t 1 1 Fig. 5 is a sectional view ofthe clamptaken on the line 55 oi -Fig.4.

Referring to the drawing; 1 0 represents the.

the depending track or currentcollectorengagingportions I2, I3 and llfand the depending 1 guide flanges lialongcthemarginal sides. The 40 ends of the ceiling slope upwardly as indicated at lfiand the-ends of the guiding flanges flare outwardly as shown at l -I for receiving and guiding the spacedrflanges of the trolley pulley or shoe through'theirog. Ears 118 having vertically disposed openings are provided on the sides of ing the same in the trolley system.

Adjacent to the outerends oithe tracksec- 1 tions I 2, 4'3 and M a half clamping section is formed integral with the frog casting. The

top of the inner faceof these sections intersects the center line of itsrespective track as indicated at 2| and the bottom is spaced therefrom to maintain the center of the trolley wire 22 in axial alignment with the centerof therespective track.

ceiving a portion of the wire. clamping sections is provided with a. compleit tromcontact.

The bottom-edge 23 of theseclampingsections is above the lowermost edge of the track and is provided .with the longitudinalgroove 24 for re- Each of .these mentary removables clamping jaw .25 which is pro- 1 vided with a correspondinggroove iland a hole 1 "for receiving the clampingjbo'lt .26 which secures the trolley wire :in the channel oppositely disposedgroovesi. 1 1 1 Teeth 121 similarto that of a thread are formed in the 1surface .of the-grooves1 2 4 1and on the lip of thelower'edge 23* for gripping the .wire and holding it suspended. Figure'eightongroovedtrolley Wire are .best suited iorbeing gripped and sup portedby this oharacterofzclamp.p However almost any kind ofxwire maybe employed. Thus the collector contacting surface of 1 the trolley- Wire, when clamped in place on the ends of the frog castinggabutsxagainst and is flush with-the depending portions 112,113 and M. This smooth formed 1 by the contacting surface eliminates a bump and permitsthe collector touride smoothlycff the wire onto the frog without arcing. The wireand the adjacent collector engaging portions of the frog do not ibecomemburneddue to=arcing caused by the collector striking an abrupt change in the contactingssurface iwhich momentarily separates .Theiinner 'surfacesof the clamping sections 20 and 25 are provided with vertically disposed open slots 28 and horizontally disposed inclined grooves 1 29 above the in'nerend'of i the grooves 24 forming 1 a throatiorreceivingawedge 3B. The wedge is dropped through :the opening formed by the slots 28 in the clamping members and then forced into the 1 tapered throat. The smooth surface of the topvo'f the wedge .engages'the smooth tapered surfaces 29 of each section of the clamping members and since the wedge is narrower than the grooves 29 it does nothave thetendency of sepa rating'the clamping jaws. 1

This wedge 1 action forces the trolley wire against the teeth 27 in'the grooves 24, thus tightly gripping the same. 1=The wedge is provided with the teeth 31 whichbite intothe top surface of the wire and aid'in holding it against slipping. The depending portionsiZ, l.3 and Myare partially hollowed out. as.indicated by the dotted line 32 of Fig. l and as shown in Fig. 3. Thus it is a simple matter to employ a rod and a hammer for driving the wedges-into position.

The enlarged viewof a trolley wire splicing clamp is shown inFigs i and 5 which illustrates the application of this wedge for aiding in gripping the adjacent abutting ends of two trolley wire sections without an intermediate section such as required in a frog. This splicer is made up of two clamping jaw members 33 and 34 having spaced clamping portions'35 connected at their lower ends by the intermediate clamping portion 36. The-full section of each jaw member is provided with a groove 24 adjacent the lower edge 23'thereof for receiving the abutting ends of the adjacent trolley wire sections 22 when held in assembled relation by the clamping bolts 26. These grooves are similarly provided with the teeth 21 which are formed around the lip bounding groove and are disposed at a slight angle to the vertical but in opposite directions on each side of the center of the'clamp as illustrated. This slanting of the teeth tends to force the wire 22 upwardly against'the clamping action of the bolts when subjected to tensional stresses.

The intermediate clamping portions 36 are provided with the vertical slots 28 and the horizontally disposed inclined grooves 29 are formed in the end clamping sections for receiving the wedges 3U.

The clamping ends of the jaw member 33 of the splicer are connected at their upper ends by means ofthe bar 31 which is integral therewith and is offset to position the longitudinal axis of the bar in the plane of the axis" of the trolley wire. A clamp or other means of support may be fastened to this bar for suspending the splicer to hold the trolley wire at its properelevation.

Thus the slanting teeth in the grooves 24 of each of these trolley wire supports tend to move the wire up when subjected to tensional forces and the wedge 30 forces the wire downwardly against this action. Both membershave teeth which bite into thewire, gripping it tightly and preventing it from being pulled out. This character of grip also provides a very low resistance contact for efficiently conducting an electrical current therethrough.

. The wedging action produced by the teeth in the clamping grooves 24 of these supports combined with the opposed action of the tooth wedges 30 may. be applied to other apparatus used to support a trolley wire, suchas section switches, cross-overs etc., fortightly. suspending the wire in position. However in each instance a smooth under-riding surface for the current collector'is provided.

. I claim:

.1. In a trolley wire structure, the combination of a casting, means integral with the casting for securing the latter to a support, integral jaw members on the ends of the casting, a groove in the lateral face of said jaw members adjacent the loweredge thereof, clamping jaw members complementary to the jaw members of the casting and having corresponding grooves coacting to receive the upper portion of adjacent end portions of trolley wires, teeth in said grooves, the corresponding jaw members contacting at their upper ends to provide a fulcrum and registering holes in the jaw members below'the fulcrums to receive clamping bolts, opposed upwardly open slots on the inner facesof the corresponding jaw members, an inclined seat connecting each slot with its corresponding groove, and wedges introduced through said slots and driven against the corresponding seats of each jaw member into the coacting grooves to force the wires into engagement with the teeth.

2. In a. frog structure for overhead conductors, the combination of an intermediate ceiling portion provided with track ribs on its under surface, integral jaw extensions of said intermediate portion corresponding to a half part of the track ribs and having longitudinal grooves on their lateral faces and upwardly extending ears, and complementary jaw members arranged to coact with said' extensions to clamp the ends of the conductors in place, said complementary jaw members being provided with grooves complementary to the groove on said extensions for receiving the conductors therebetween, teeth in said grooves for grasping the conductors, upwardly extending ears on said jaw members mating with the ears of the extensions to form fulcrums, means below the fulcrums defining registering holes in the mating ears to receive clamping bolts,.wedge-seats formed in the mating jaw members having inclined surfaces opposed to said grooves, and wedges driven into said seats and bearing on the conductors to force the latter into engagement with the teeth.

3. A trolley conductor support comprising complementary jaw members each provided with a longitudinally extending groove adjacent its lowor edge, said grooves coacting to clasp the wires when the members are assembled, upwardly extending ears adjacent the ends of the jaw members, the opposed ears of the jaw members contacting at their upper ends to provide a fulcrum and said ears being provided below the fulcrums with registering holes to receive clamping bolts, and the ears of one jaw member being provided with an integral connecting hanger bar spaced upwardly from the intermediate portion of the jaw member, the axial center of said bar bein disposed in the plane of the parting of the coacting grooves, the intermediate portions of the jaw member being cut away to expose the grooves from above, and Wedges introduced through the cut away portions and driven into the coacting grooves to bind the wires in place.

4. A trolley conductorsplicer comprising complementary jaw members each provided with a longitudinally extending groove adjacent its lower edge, said grooves coacting to clasp the wires when the members are assembled, teeth in said grooves, upwardly extending ears adjacent the ends of the jaw members, the opposed ears of the jaw members contacting at their upper ends to provide a fulcrum and said ears being provided below the fulcrums with registering holes to receive clamping bolts, and the ears of one jaw member being provided with an integral connecting hanger bar spaced upwardly from the intermediate portion of the jaw member,.the axial center of said bar being disposed in the plane of the parting of the coacting grooves, the intermediate portions of the jaw member being cut away to expose the grooves from above, and wedges introduced through the cut away portions and driven into the coacting grooves to force the wires into engagement with the teeth.

ALBERT H. GENTER. 

